Hello and Welcome back! I hope you enjoy the 5th chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Normal"

'Thoughts'

"Ephasis"

"YELLING"

"Jutsu"

"Demon talk"

'Demon Thoughts'

A Blond Hyuuga

Chapter 5

Konoha Hospital: Naruto's Room

Naruto stared blankly into the dimly lit hospital room as he thought about everything that had just happened. He felt numb. His body and mind felt like two separate entities at the moment and he was caught in the middle. His body felt like it always did. It was filled with pent up energy that needed an outlet, a way to release all he had felt. His mind was a different story. It just wanted to rest and forget about everything today.

Unfortunately, no amount of rest could block out the harsh words he had heard. What was left for him? His friends probably hated him after finding out his deepest and darkest secret. As much as he tried to be positive, he just couldn't bring himself to put on his false happiness mask.

"So what shall you do now?" Kyubi's voice echoed in his mind.

"I don't know, it just feels…" Naruto trailed off.

The Kyuubi snorted. "You should feel happy, ningen. You are finally seeing the true side of your race. The side I see every day. It's disgusting, isn't it?"

Naruto didn't respond, he just continued to stare blankly at his hands.

"You know, I could end your misery. All you have to do is rip off this seal…You'll be granted the release from the pain you've endured for so long…" Kyuubi coaxed Naruto.

Naruto was pulled into his mindscape where he just stared at the fox. His mind screamed at him to ignore the fox's offer, but his body was slowly making its way to the bars that held the malicious beast back. Soon he was standing in front of the prison and his hand slowly made its way to the seal. He felt the paper brush against his fingertips. He felt the shock of energy trying to repulse him.

Right before he pulled the seal off, he saw the faces of his precious people flash in his mind.

He saw Jiraiya, Tsunade, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, the Ichiraku family; he then saw all his friends' faces. The final face he saw was Hinata's face with her shy smile and bright opal eyes staring back at him. He didn't know why Hinata was the final face to appear, but he knew he couldn't go through with his current actions. He had to protect his precious people, even if that meant to endure the pain so they could live peacefully.

"Why do you hesitate? Don't you want your freedom from the pain? I can give you the peace that you deserve."

"No, I don't want that kind of peace! I will endure this burden because I still have people who I consider precious to me. As long as they are alive, I will continue to fight for them!"

"HA! Who do you consider precious? You allowed your leader to tell your secret about me. How many of them do you think still want to be your friend? They would probably want you dead like the rest of the trash in this village. Allow me to remove these ungrateful insects before they leech more off you," Kyuubi responded as he got closer to Naruto and stared down on him.

Before Naruto could respond, he heard a knock on his door. "N-Naruto-kun, it's m-me, Hinata…" Hinata's soft voice echoed.

'NO, WHY COULDN'T IT BE ANYONE ELSE?!' Kyuubi mentally wailed. Before he could prod Naruto more into pulling the seal, the boy had already left his mindscape to talk to the Hyuga heiress.

Kyuubi let out a mighty roar before he slammed into the bars to let out his frustration. He knew that the gaki's friends were loyal to a fault and that the Hyuuga would love him even if he had a fox tail and ears. He was trying to play on Naruto's vulnerability, but he knew that the Hyuuga would ruin his plan.

Hinata opened the hospital door and saw her crush staring back at her. She noticed that her love's cerulean eyes were dulled and his ever present smile was gone which she was somewhat thankful for. Hinata knew that his smiles were usually fakes, but his true smiles always melted her heart and she wished that he would show the world his true smile more often.

Seeing Naruto in this state of depression saddened Hinata, but strengthened her resolve. Naruto had always been there for her (indirectly), and now she could finally be there for him.

Naruto stared at the Hyuuga Heiress in front of him. He was shocked to see her even come this close to him. It warmed his heart a bit to see her, but he crushed that feeling immediately. He couldn't get his hopes up after his world basically shattered around him.

"I asked for no visitors, Hinata," Naruto said evenly.

Hinata flinched a bit, which did not go unnoticed by Naruto. He could see the nervousness rolling off Hinata and he assumed it was because of him. Sadly, he was correct, but for the wrong reason. Naruto sighed and turned away from Hinata.

"Can you please leave, Hinata? I can see that you're uncomfortable around my presence so you can just go," Naruto said without looking at her.

Hinata was hurt by Naruto's words and actions but then she realized why. Tsunade's words started to chime in her head.

"Hinata, he's really down right now. I'm sending you because he needs to see that there are people out there that care about him. You can't hesitate or else he'll misinterpret it as something else. Right now, Naruto needs you and you can't hold back…do you understand?"

'He thinks that I'm afraid of him not that I'm afraid to embarrass myself in front of him,' Hinata thought.

She straightened her back and her eyes filled with the fire of determination. She walked up to Naruto and gently, put forcefully tugged his shoulder so he would turn to look at her.

"I'm not leaving, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a sense of finality.

Naruto's eyebrows rose up and his face took an expression of confusion that Hinata thought was cute.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"I came to check on my friend. I know you were hurt and I wanted to check on you because you're one of my p-precious people," Hinata blushed a bit but didn't break eye contact. Her heart was pounding a mile per minute.

Naruto felt his own blood rush to his cheeks, but not as obvious as Hinata's blush. He never really noticed that Hinata's eyes contained a light shade of lavender that seemed different than the other Hyuuga eyes he'd seen. It made her eyes seem kinder.

Naruto never felt so exposed before and it was unnerving for him. Hinata's eyes seemed to be looking into his soul. She certainly was an enigma, but him saying that was like the pot calling the kettle black.

"How can you think I'm someone precious…you know what I contain, right?" He paused to see Hinata's nod, "Then why?" Naruto said as he looked away so Hinata couldn't see his eyes that were filling with tears.

He couldn't look into those lovely lavender pools. They gave him so much false hope, it was too painful to look.

He wasn't given the choice when Hinata guided his face to look at hers. She smiled a soft smile that seemed to make his heart beat erratically.

"Naruto-kun is Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun is the boy that I have admired for so long. He's the strongest shinobi I know and he will be Hokage one day, because he doesn't give up or back down, because that's his… no…our nindo," Hinata said vehemently.

"Hinata…" Naruto was truly touched by the beautiful words she spoke to him. It was a complete contrast to what Sakura had said to him before.

"You've always been selfless and put others in front of you. No demon would ever do that. I don't think you remember this, but when we were little, you saved me from those bullies that were picking on me. You defended my honor when you fought against Neji-nii-san. You even put up a mask of happiness to hide how much you are hurting so you don't make those who actually care about you worry over you. No demon would ever do that…" Hinata said seriously.

Naruto's eyes widened at Hinata's speech. She had seen through his front where people who were considered geniuses did not. She also knew about the Kyuubi and she didn't care…For the first time since he entered the hospital, Naruto regained the small shine that was always in his eyes as well as a bit of hope.

Hinata noticed that Naruto's eyes were no longer dull like before and she smiled that she was able to help him, but she needed to push a little more.

"You've always been my inspiration, Naruto-kun. Whenever I was down and felt like giving up, I always thought about you. Seeing you like this hurts me because it would take a lot to bring you down. I want to help you Naruto-kun because I… you...are…my most precious person to me…" Hinata said the last part after hesitating slightly.

As much as Hinata wanted to say she loved him, she couldn't muster enough courage to say those words. Maybe she would get the chance to say them in the future…

Naruto felt a tear of joy slide out of his eye, but he couldn't care less. He was elated that he still had someone who believed in him.

"Hinata…thank you…You always know what to say to me to make me feel better, just like the time before I fought Neji. I don't think I would have won if I hadn't talked to you," Naruto said as he pulled the Hyuga into a hug.

Hinata's face invented a new shade of red with the blush she had on, but she returned the hug nevertheless. "I'll always be by your side as long as you want me there, Naruto-kun," She whispered in his ear.

'Hopefully we'll be by each other's sides for a very long time…' Hinata thought as she blushed again at her train of thought.

"I know I said that I thought you were a shy, dark, weirdo, but I was wrong, you are an amazing friend who is kind, smart and kinda cute, Hinata-chan," Naruto didn't know what possessed him to say the last part, but the –chan suffix seemed to fit very well and she was definitely cute.

Hinata's mind seemed to go into overdrive at what Naruto said and she did the one thing she hoped she wouldn't do…

…she fainted. (A/N Naruto's charm is super effective on the wild Hinata)

Naruto noticed Hinata go limp in his arms and looked to see her face was red and that she was unconscious. He idly noted that she was smiling a large grin.

Naruto chuckled a bit at Hinata's expression. "Someday, I'll figure out why you keep turning red and fainting around me, Hinata-chan," Naruto said as he yawned a bit before he himself fell asleep.

It was a new morning in Konoha and everyone was still asleep except for the hospital staff and one overworked Sannin/Hokage. Tsunade had hardly got any sleep that night since she was still worried about the closest person to a son she had. She didn't doubt that Hinata could help him, but she had never seen that side of Naruto and he was the most unpredictable shinobi.

Tsunade, Shizune, and a nurse walked up to Naruto's room before the nurse opened it. What they saw had them mentally screaming 'kawaii'. Upon looking into Naruto's room, you would have seen Naruto and Hinata huddled up together in the hospital bed. Naruto's arms were wrapped around Hinata's waist while her hands were around his neck. Her head was also resting gently on Naruto's chest.

Tsunade didn't show it, but she was immensely relieved to see the small smile on Naruto's face. It wasn't a fake one either; it was one of his true smiles.

'Thank you for helping my little brat, Hinata…' thought Tsunade.

Tsunade turned to the attending nurse with a faux-stern façade. "I believe it is a hospital rule to not allow guests to stay past visiting hours…care to explain?" Tsunade said evenly.

The nurse was sweating bullets. "W-Well you s-see, Tsunade-sama, when I came to check on the patient, he and his little friend were already asleep and I thought it was too cute to separate them…" The nurse looked down in shame.

Tsunade nodded before she turned to Shizune. "Shizune, make sure this nurse gets a nice hefty bonus in her next pay-check. Consider a Hokage's satisfaction bonus," Tsunade winked at the awe-struck attendant.

"T-Thank you, Tsunade-sama, I really appreciate it!" The nurse bowed before she continued on her routine with a little hop in her step.

"That was nice of you to do, Tsunade-sama. I'll make sure she gets her bonus," Shizune chirped in.

Tsunade nodded before she looked at the sleeping pre-teens. She soon smiled a devious smile.

"Hey, Shizune…do you have a camera?" Tsunade asked her assistant.

Shizune seemed to understand what Tsunade was planning and smiled an equally devious smile.

"Yes I do, Tsunade-sama. How many photos would you like?" Shizune said as she pulled out a disposable camera.

"Take as many pictures as you can on that roll. I can't wait to see the brat's expression when he sees them," Tsunade chuckled in an eerily similar way to her former snake summoning teammate.

"I'm on it, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said and gave a mock-salute before she started to take pictures of the cute little couple.

20 minutes later was when Naruto started to wake up. He heard some girl giggles and he felt strange warmth on his chest and around his neck. He sleepily gripped the thing that was emitting the warmth closer to him which caused it to squeak…wait…

Naruto's eyes shot open to see to lavender pools staring back at him. He could also see that Hinata's face was beat red from the close proximity. The two stared at each other for a few moments but it was soon interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Both pre-teens turned their heads to see a smiling Tsunade and Shizune. In Shizune's hands was a little camera.

Both pre-teens' eyes widened at the sight of the camera before they both scrambled to get it at the same time. Unfortunately, their legs were tangled which caused both of them to land unceremoniously on the ground. These incidents lead to some more laughter from the older Kunoichi and a couple more snapping from the camera.

After everything settled down, Tsunade had the two pre-teens sit down on while she gave a last examination on Naruto.

"Everything seems to be in order, Naruto. Your wounds will still need a couple more days to fully heal, but you're not in any danger," Tsunade said.

"Aww, I'm stuck here longer?" Naruto whined which lead to a chuckle from Hinata and Shizune. Tsunade smirked before she lightly bopped Naruto on the head.

"Yeah, you're stuck here, so deal with it! If I catch you trying to escape then I'll strap you to the bed for a month and give the Ichiraku's a year paid vacation!" Tsunade said seriously.

She had to stifle a giggle when Naruto paled as white as a sheet and pulled the covers up to his nose while shaking like a leaf.

"I'll be good…just don't take my ramen away! Naruto is a good boy!" Naruto rambled hysterically.

That proved to be too much for the kunoichi as they all fell over laughing, although Hinata's was more subdued. It was good to see Naruto back to his old self.

"Alright, Naruto, I have to go back to do some of my work. You're in a good condition and you'll be allowed to have visitors today. Also, that lecher Jiraiya has something he wants to ask you so don't be surprised if he pops in," Tsunade said as she and Shizune left the room.

"I-I have to go too, Naruto-kun…I've been here a while, and m-my clan might get worried. I'll be back later," Hinata said softly.

"I can't wait, Hinata-chan. I'll see you later and thank you, for everything," Naruto said as he smiled his true smile, causing Hinata to blush.

"You are welcome, Naruto-kun…Oh! Before I forget, I-I got t-these for you," Hinata shyly held up the orange flowers that she had forgotten on the counter. She placed them on the table next to Naruto and said one final goodbye before she left.

"You've got a real fine catch with that girl, brat," An unknown voiced echoed from Naruto's window.

To Naruto's credit, he didn't flinch or looked surprised by the intruder. "Hey Ero-Sennin, Tsunade-baa-chan said you would be visiting; I just didn't expect it to be so soon," Naruto replied as he looked at the smiling pervert.

Naruto's eyebrow rose in question to Jiraiya's mood. "What's with the look, Ero-Sennin?" Naruto said suspiciously.

"Oh nothing…" Jiraiya said casually. "I came to check on you last night, but instead I was greeted by the site of you cuddling up to your cute little girlfriend,"

Jiraiya's smile grew as he saw Naruto pale. "Alright, brat, I want details and I want them now!" Jiraiya said as he took out his notepad and pen.

"Nothing happened, Ero-Sennin! She's not my girlfriend, she was just comforting me after everything that happened," Naruto said the last part solemnly.

Jiraiya looked at his current pupil and saw how serious he was, so he decided to drop his perverted antics for now.

"Tsunade told me about everything that happened and I want to say that I'm sorry. I know it must have hurt, but I know it wouldn't be enough to bring you down," Jiraiya said seriously.

Naruto nodded his head. He didn't want to admit it, but he was seriously still thinking of just ending his shinobi career. As much as Hinata and Tsunade helped him, he could still feel a part of him was missing.

"So what did you want to talk about, Ero-Sennin? I know you didn't come here just to talk," Naruto said seriously.

Jiraiya nodded his head and a small smile appeared on his face. "When did you get so perceptive, brat? You're right; I came here to ask you if you wanted to become my full time apprentice," Jiraiya answered.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "Why would you want me as your apprentice? There are many others who are probably smarter and stronger than me…"

Jiraiya bopped Naruto on top of his head. "OW! What the hell, Ero-Sennin?" Naruto yelled as he rubbed the bump left by Jiraiya.

"The Naruto I know would never talk like that. I hit you to knock some sense into you. You're right, I could have trained a genius. But, you have something a genius doesn't. You have the heart and the drive to become something great and I'm going to help you," Jiraiya said seriously.

"Plus, training geniuses is not fun. They already know everything and they barely learn anything through hard work," Jiraiya said half-jokingly.

Naruto was silent for a second as he thought over what Jiraiya said. "Okay, Jiraiya-sensei, I accept. I need to become stronger so I can protect those who are precious to me."

Jiraiya smiled and shuffled Naruto's hair. "Okay kid, after you get out of the hospital I'm going to take you on a training trip. We'll be leaving Konoha for three years so you should say goodbye to your friends."

Naruto's eyes widened at Jiraiya's words. 'Three years? I'll be gone for that long…' Naruto thought, but he didn't voice it. He just nodded his head and Jiraiya left via window.

Hokage Tower: Council Chamber

Tsunade was having a good day until an emergency council meeting was called by the civilian council. Usually the civilian council couldn't call this sort of meetings unless it was a danger to the village. The only plausible explanation would be that they felt Naruto's tantrum from yesterday and they were scared…

…it turned out that Tsunade hit the nail on the head.

"Tsunade-sama, we all felt that energy being released. Is the fox still contained?" asked a worried civilian member.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "If it wasn't contained, then would we even be here right now?" Tsunade asked rhetorically.

"The boy is obviously losing his control! He used that beast's power during the Chuunin exams and now he's releasing its power for no reason!" screamed a frantic civilian followed by more frantic members.

Surprisingly, there were members on the civilian side who just rolled their eyes at the absurd behavior of their peers. The shinobi side seemed a little tense, but they weren't jumping to any conclusions.

"QUIET!" Tsunade commanded.

"Yesterday after Naruto woke up from his grievous injuries, a kunoichi, who shall remain anonymous, started to berate him and his team for his failure to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade gave a pointed look at a pink haired councilwoman.

"This Kunoichi's actions, along with the excess yokai chakra in his system, seemed to trigger his emotional response and he subconsciously channeled the Kyubi's energy. It was a freak accident that happened because of different factors. I did the medical procedure myself and his system seems to be clean of Yokai chakra," Tsunade said with a hint of finality.

"Tsunade-sama, this is most troubling. The boy is obviously losing control. We must do something before matters get out of hand," Homura said.

"I have to agree with my colleague, Tsunade-sama. The boy has always been emotionally erratic and now his emotions are starting to tap into the fox's power. How do we know if the fox is not influencing him when he uses the yokai chakra?" Koharu asked.

"I have already taken measures. My teammate, Jiraiya has agreed to take Naruto as his apprentice. Jiraiya is the best at Fuinjutsu in our village so he will be able to monitor Naruto's seal. He wills also traveling with Jiraiya so he won't even be in the village for a couple of years," Tsunade explained.

Tsunade looked at the shinobi council side and saw that most of them seemed to be appeased with her decision. Some of the civilians seemed happy with her decision while others looked flabbergasted.

"But Tsunade-sama, shouldn't the boy be punished for failing his mission?" asked a rather dumb civilian member.

Tsunade raised eyebrow at the absurd question. "What did Naruto do to warrant punishment during that mission?" Tsunade decided to humor the idiots.

"He failed to retrieve the Uchiha and some say he was the reason why Uchiha-sama left!" some said.

Everyone with a brain cell rolled their eyes at the pathetic excuse. "We think it would be better to exile the boy." said another idiot...Err…councilmen…

"So you want to exile Naruto…" Tsunade said eerily calm.

"If you are going to exile him for failing a mission then you will also have to exile Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka, and Neji Hyuga as well," Tsunade said seriously.

The shinobi members who were related to the members stood up in protest, but Tsunade quickly silenced them.

"As I recall, I sent that team to retrieve the wayward Uchiha and that I sent a team, not just Naruto. If you are willing to exile him for failing this mission then you are going to exile his teammates as well. I placed Shikamaru Nara in charge of the mission, not Naruto Uzumaki. So if you want to exile Naruto, then you will also have to exile the Nara heir, Akimichi heir, the Inuzuka Matron's son, and the Hyuga prodigy as well," Tsunade said with finality.

Some of the civilians seemed to nod their heads to show that they won't be taking steps forward in banning Naruto, while the ones who were still contemplating it were hit with a wave of killing intent from the shinobi whose children participated in that mission.

"We withdraw our petition, Tsunade-sama," one of the civilians said shakily.

"Yeah, I thought you would," Tsunade responded with a smug smirk.

"Oh, and Naruto and Jiraiya will be leaving around next week," Tsunade said as she finally got to end the hellish meeting.

One Week Later: Konoha Front Gate

Naruto was standing in front of the gate with Jiraiya. He had a backpack with all his valuable items inside of them. Three years was a long time, so he kept everything he could with him. He had said goodbye to all his friends the previous day so all that was left was to leave.

"You ready, brat?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto sighed before he looked up at the Hokage monument. It faintly looked like the Third and Fourth Hokages' faces were smiling down at him. He smiled back before he turned to his master/teacher.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Naruto responded.

Jiraiya nodded before he started to walk ahead. Naruto followed, but he took one last look at his village. "When I return, I won't be the same annoying brat as I am now. I will become a shinobi that would make the Hokages proud to acknowledge. That's a promise, dattebayo!"

Naruto turned around and started to go after Jiraiya. Before he caught up, he heard his name being called faintly. He turned around to see Hinata running to him. His eyes widened slightly and he felt his heartbeat quicken for some reason.

"Hinata-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

Hinata blushed from both exhaustion and exertion. She still wasn't used to Naruto calling her, "Hinata-chan."

"I c-came to s-say goodbye o-one more time to you…" Hinata said as she was catching her breath.

Naruto smiled at his most precious person. Hinata had easily became that person to him after what she said to him in the hospital.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan, it means a lot to me that you would see me off," Naruto said as he hugged the girl in front of him.

Hinata "eeped" from the hug, but she hugged back. They slowly moved away, almost as if they didn't want to. The stood awkwardly, shuffling a bit before Hinata finally spoke.

"I'm g-going t-to miss y-you, Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered before she sprinted away like she was on fire.

Naruto stood there for a bit, staring after her as he tried to gather his swirling emotions.

A giggle snapped Naruto out of his delirium to see Jiraiya writing furiously into his notebook while giggling. "Naruto, my boy, you and your pretty little girlfriend are a goldmine of ideas," Jiraiya said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"S-Shut up, E-Ero-Sennin," Naruto stuttered as he started to chase the perverted hermit.

Jiraiya just laughed as he sped up to avid Naruto's grasp. "Hahahaha, I can see it now! "Icha Icha: Denial". The lovely, yet shy, princess of the village tries to teach a socially inept boy the ways of the heart! It'll appeal to lunkheads like you and my female audience!"

"You mean all two of them, Ero-Sennin? It doesn't matter because I'm going to shred that notebook!" Naruto yelled as he chased the perverted hermit into the sunset.

Chapter: End

A/N

There you go!

That's all for this one, see ya next chapter!